So happy. One of the Rogers stores in Winnipeg got 2 in today and I managed to snag the last one. Sooooo niceeee.
DAMN YOU! I called Rogers at Polo Park earlier today and they told me that somebody had grabbed the last one. However, I did manage to get out to a store yesterday and try one out.
My impressions? Well, it's definitely built well. First impressions in the hand were very positive, and even though it bumbs the display size up a bit from the 900, it seems about the same size. However, it definitely does have a little heft to it. I like the black buttons, the old chrome ones seemed cheap and these feel much better.
I gave WP8 a try, and it feels MUCH faster. WP7 was incredibly smooth, but lacked a bit in the speed department (opening apps, loading menus, etc). This just feels better, not so much more responsive, but just faster at opening things which is a huge bonus.
The super sensitive display does work, and yes, I tried it with gloves and it's fine. I didn't try keys or metalic objects as I didn't purchase it (I considered it, but didn't want to make a rushed decision), but it is more sensitive. I'm not sure how this translates into real works usefulness, but if you work a lot with gloves or live in a city like Winnipeg where you get almost 8 months of winter, it's a nice touch.
The camera is okay, but honestly not as stellar as I'd hoped. After Nokia announced it I lowered my expectations (who are we kidding, any brand will praise their own product whether it's amazing or a complete POS), but it's just not what I'd hoped for. I didn't have the chance to try some low light shots which I'm sure are quite good, but daytime shots looked over processed and at a lack of sharpness. I even compared a few shots taken of a lens testing chart that I brought in with the iP5 and GS3. I'm not sure if it's a result of over noise reduction of if it's just a duller lens, but sharpness wasn't what I expected. Maybe it's a bum model, but a little lackluster (still pretty comparable to the other phones though). What I CAN tell you however, is that OIS is amazing. If you'll be moving often or shooting in low light conditions when you need to take your shutter speed down, it's going to REALLY help. I was amazed at how well it works, even comparable to some of my VRII Nikkors. The flash is also extremely bright, and has an AF assist feature.
What else can I say? Well, I'm a little dissapointed that TellMe wasn't updated in WP8, to stay competitive with Siri and the excellent Google Now, MS should update it by 8.5 or 9. The new accent colours are nice (oh yeah, the screen's beautiful! Blacks are surprisingly deep for an LCD, but they probably won't be as nice as the ATIV's AMOLED), and high contrast mode is also pretty cool. I couldn't try out GPS, but like most apps, Nokia Drive launched surprisingly quick. Another addition to WP8 that bothered me about 7 is that you can tap the screen to start recording videos as opposed to the camera button, a small annoyance of mine about 7. I couldn't test LTE (no LTE in Winnipeg yet, yes Rogers, I'm glaring at you! We're quite a large city!), so i couldn't run any speed tests, but WiFi was lighting quick as I expected. I also couldn't try NFC or Wireless Charging, but I'm assuming that they work fine.
It's priced $100 less than the iPhone 5 on Rogers outright, but still packs a pretty hefty price tag at $600 + GST/PST (or whatever tax system you use in your country). Hopefully this will stay competitive with other devices such as the upcoming Nexus 4 at $300, Rogers or Nokia will need to market it well.
Overall, extremely positive first impressions. It's a nice device, and can compete or beats out most other high end phones, but I'm just worried that it's too hefty of a price tag. Most consumers don't know much about WP, and when they see it at a price the same as the GS3, they'll say, "why get the Nokia?", especially with the extremely low priced Nexus 4 coming. Don't get me wrong, it is a NICE device, but the marketing and promotions will need to be top notch. The rep that I spoke with was pretty knowledgeable about WP8 (something that I can't say about Telus reps), so good job Rogers and Nokia for that.
Hopefully my "first impressions" can help you make your decision easier. I can answer any other questions you guys may have
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